Apparatus for making sheet glass



Dec. 14, 1926'.

' J. S. GREGORIUS APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEET GLASS Fil d May 24, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 14 1926.

J. s. GREGORIUS APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEET Filed May 24. 1926 GLASS I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 14, 1926.

UNITED STATES 1,610,443 PATENT OFFICE.

Josarn s. eanoomus, or manner vEnNoN, 0111c, assrouon TO rrrrsnunen PLATE GLASS COMPANY. a conrona'non or PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING SHEET GLASS.

Application filed Kay 24, 1926. Serial No. 111,104.

The invention relates to apparatus for making sheet glass. It has for its principal object the provision of improved coolmg means, for use over the glass bath, adapted to give a graduated cooling efi'ect. The glass bath, at its central portion, normally has a somewhat higher temperature than at its side portions, due to the tion of heat at the sides of the bath, incident In to the conducting efiectof the side walls of the tank. This tends to give the sheet, drawn from the bath, a center portion, which is thinner than the edges, such condition ten'ding to cause a'warping of the sheetand to increase the breakage.

tion is designed to provide a simplified and improved form of cooler for giving a greater cooling efiect upon the bath, and upon the sheet itself, at the center of such bath and of the sheet, than at the end portions, and thus promote the production of a sheet of more uniform thickness from edge to edge. Briefl stated, this is accomplished by the use 0 a cooler, formed of metal having different degrees of conductivity; the central portion bein formed of a metal, such as copper, whic has a greater conducting capacity than; the end portions of the cooler, which are formed from a metal, such as steel. It will be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the use of the particular metals above s cified, the only requirement being that t e central portion of the cooler be constructed of a metal having a higher degree of conductivity than the meta from which the end portlons of the cooler are constructed. One embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through a glass tank with the invention ap lied thereto. Fi re 2 is a side elevation o the cooling device taken by itself. And Fi 3 form of the refractory blocks or plates 4,

greater dissipa- The present invenis a longitudinal section throu h the coo ing the regenerator type, and 2 is a forehearth or 5, 6 and 7, the latter being L-shaped in cross section and being supported from above by of thesheet 9, but for simplicit in showing, these devices are not illustrate The space beneath the leer is preferably closed in by means of the inclined metal plates 12, 12 resting at their lower edges upon the members 6 and 7. Heat is applied to the' tank 2 by means of gas burners directed through the openings 13 and 14 in the walls of the Suitable edge holding devices are provided at the edges tank. A refractory draw-bar 15 is also preferably employed extending below the line of generation of the sheet 9.

On each side of the glass sheet and spaced above the surface of the bath is a ooolin member 17. These cooling members exten from one side of the tank to the other and Y are constructed in the form of a hollow metal shell, as indicated more specifically in Figs. 2 and 3. These members are cooled by means of a circulation of water therethrough, this being accomplished by means of an inlet pipe 18 and an outlet pipe 19. As indicated in rig. 3, the shell 17 is made in three sections, namely, a central section 20 and a pair of end sections 21, 21, the sections being brazed together along the lines 22, 22. The end sections 21, 21 are preferably made of sheet steel, while the central section 20 is made of sheet copper. The copper has a heat conducting capacity several times that of steel, so that when water is circulated through the shell, the

central section 20 absorbs more heat from the glass bath and from the glass sheet itself than does the end sections 21, 21. As a result, the cooling device gives a greater cooling effect at the center of the bath than it does at the sides of the bath. The result is to give a sheet which is somewhat thicker. at the center than would otherwise be the case, thus neutralizingthe tendency of the sheet to draw thin at the center incident to the condition that the bath is'normall hotter at the center than at the sides. ile the sections of the shell are preferabl made of copper and steel, as these meta stitute the most available ones having the desired difierence in conductivity, the same result may be secured by using different combinations of metals, the essential requirement being that the central section of the cooling device shall be of a material having a higher degree of conductivity than that of the end sections. The invention is also not limited to coolers of the cross section shown in the drawings, as this cross section may bevaried to meet requirements and conditions.

\Vhat I claim is:

1. The'combination with a receptacle for molten glass, and a drawing means thereover for drawing a glass sheet continuously from the bath, of a cooling device extending across the bath on each side of the sheet adjacent the surface of the bath, and comprising a hollow shell, such shell having its central portion formed from a material having a higher degree of conductivity than the material from which the end portions are formed, and means for circulatin a cooling fluid through each of said she s.

2. The combination with-a receptacle for molten glass, and a drawing means thereover for drawing a glass sheet continuously from the bath, of a cooling device extending across the bath on each side of the sheet adjacent the surface of the bath, and comprising a hollow shell of metal, such shell comprising a central section formed of a metal having a relatively high degree of conductivity, and end sections formed of a metal having a less degree of conductivity than that of said central section, and means for circulating a cooling fluid through each of said shells.

3. The combination with areoeptacle for molten glass, and a drawing means thereover for drawing a glass sheet continuously from the bath, of a cooling device extending across the bath, on each sideof the sheet adjacent the surface of the bath, and comprising a hollow shell of metal, such shell comprising a central section formed of copper and end sections formed of steel, and means for circulating a cooling fluid through each of said shells.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this 5th day of April,

J. S. GREGORIUS. 

